I quietly move to a different seat if available. If not, I feel annoyed but do nothing.

I would ask them to be quiet.

I would ask them to be quiet.

I would be annoyed and turn around to ask them to be quiet

I would cough loudly a few times or look agitated, but I probably wouldn't say anything.

I would get annoyed and maybe turn around to give them dirty looks, but I probably wouldn't say anything to them. I'm just not that bold!

I would ignore them and keep watching the movie.

I would make some disgruntled noises but I would probably not do anything.

I would turn around and ask them to please be quiet.

If it's a good movie, I would be annoyed but I probably would ignore them and keep watching the movie. If it were a bad movie, I would probably laugh with them and make my own comments with my own friends.

Turn around and ask them to stop and then ask an usher to remove them if they continue.

In general, I do not think that it is considered polite to disturb others by talking in a movie theater, which is why there are many mentions of asking them to be quiet, being annoyed, or signalling annoyance without telling them directly. It seems that we tend to be less bold about telling someone who we do not know that they are doing something to bother us--perhaps we are afraid of being considered rude for pointing out rudeness in another. Instead, we tend to signal annoyance with looks or fidgeting--is this less common in France? Do you not find it difficult to tell someone who you do not know that they are bothering you? Also, I noticed that there is a mention on the American side of asking an usher to intervene--would this be acceptable in France?

I find it interesting that Americans are less likely to tell someone they are annoyed in a movie theater than the French. For me, the reason I wouldn't tell people to be quiet is that they may try to annoy me more if I point it out. In France, when you ask people to be quiet or let them know they are annoying you, do they listen to you? What do you do if they ignore your request?

I fully agree with Rachael's reason for not telling people to be quiet. Perhaps we are more likely to actually express our disagreement in situations that do not affect us personally, such as watching a stranger throw a can of Coke on the sidewalk, or watching a mother slap her child in a supermarket. In France, are people likely to listen if a stranger complains to them about something? In my experience, such an approach here is usually ineffective.

I think this is somewhat similar to the smile from a stranger situation. Americans seem to be far more reluctant to interact with strangers, whether positively or negatively for fear that this is crossing some social boundary. In general one only converses with, interacts with, and makes requests of those they know to some degree. This is not true of all Americans certainly. Some people are very outgoing and have no problem talking to strangers for whatever reason. I personally probably wouldn't be comfortable asking a person to be quiet in a movie theatre. Normally, in my experience, the result is negative, whether it results in the individual becoming peevish and even more annoying or whether it justs results in awkwardness for both parties. I was wondering why the French seem to be so much more comfortable expressing themselves to strangers.

Hannah, you mentioned that you think people are less bold when telling strangers that they are being bothersome. Do you think you would be more or less likely if the rude theatre person was someone you vaguely knew, but not well (like one of the other French III students)?

Personally, I think I would be uncomfortable either way, but I would probably feel less comfortable asking an acquaintance to be quiet. Actually, a situation that might be more familiar to us is when people talk during lecture. I find that to be incredibly rude and disruptive. How do you deal with that? Do you give the person a dirty look?